For Those I Love, I Will Sacrifice
by AnGeLs and DaEmOns
Summary: Trinity Teller and Rose Yakavetta grew up with the McMannus boys, but lost track of them after they moved to America. Now they're grown women and have crossed paths with the boys, but can they accept the fact that they aren't the same McMannus boys they grew up with?
1. Chapter 1

** DUBLIN, IRELAND**

** MARCH 1989**

"_Trinity, what's wrong?" my sister Roselyn asked me. _

"_Nothing Rose, I'm fine." I put on a fake smile as I lied through my teeth. _

_No, I wasn't fine. _

_Rose made room for herself on my twin sized bed, and patiently waited for me to fess up. _

_I sighed. She knew me too well. _

_Finally, I confessed to her what was bothering me. _"_Rosy, I think I like Murphy." _

_I felt her gasp slightly. "Murph? Murphy McManus?" _

_I nodded and held my head in my hands, ashamed._

"_Triny, ya can't keep doing this to yer self. Ya can't keep watching from the sidelines. If ya like him, ya have to tell 'im. Yer liable ta have a heart attack going bout it this way." _

_My cousin spoke the truth. I was nearly sixteen and had never had a boyfriend, never been kissed, and was still a virgin. Rose was fifteen, had two exes, and was in search of "the one". _

"_I jus, I just can't. What if it fucks up our friendship?" I nearly cried._

_I couldn't stand it if I lost either of my two best friends, Murphy and Connor McManus._

* * *

_The McManus brothers were fraternal twins who lived a few houses down the road._

_When my father died, and mom began drinking, the twins took me in until mom came to grips with herself, like I was part of their family. Later mom remarried an Italian mafia don. This was a no-no in my book because of my thick Irish roots, but I tried to accept him._

_Into the picture he had brought his sons, Concezio and David, and his niece, my adopted sister, Rose. I didn't see much of Concezio though. He was living stateside with his mother._

_At first things were ok, I mean they weren't the best but they were bearable. My stepbrother kept to himself mostly, and Rose and I formed an almost unbreakable bond together._

* * *

_I hugged Rose, "Aye thank ya Rose. Ya always knew when I needed someone ta talk to." _

_She smiled back, and then whipped her head towards the door when we heard the doorbell sound. We stood up and brushed ourselves off before answering it. _

_Being the eldest, I opened it and to our surprise stood the McManus twins. _

"_Aye can ya girls come out? It's such a beautiful day and we're wondering what kind o' trouble an damage we could reek on our beloved town." Connor said jovially._

_Murphy just smirked. "It was all my idea really. He just stole credit from a real genius." _

_At this everyone laughed, except for Connor who looked hurt and lightly pushed his brother._

"_Aye yer a fuckin genius alright. Remember getting stuck in tha tree a few weeks ago? Ma' had to come up there and rescue ya like a newborn kitten." Murphy laughed. _

"_Shut yer hole. At least I ain't the one lightin' my ass on fire thanks to your brilliant plan." Murphy retorted._

_Connor blushed slightly. "Not in front of the ladies, Murph." _

_I sighed and placed a __hand on my hip. "Don't worry Conn, we were all there."_

_At that he blushed even more. _

_Rose had grabbed our jackets, and handed mine to me. As we walked out the door, I ruffed Connor's spiky brown hair up, teasing him._

_These were the good days. When everything seemed okay. Like everything about our lives was normal, but it was exactly opposite. Every night mom would come home drunk, oblivious, or didn't care, to who her husband really was._

* * *

_Joe would wait until she passed out in the bedroom, and inspect the house. Of course he always found something wrong. Whether it be not dusting properly, the carpet not being cleaned right, or whatever the fuck he felt was wrong. He would then interrogate all three of us to find out who slacked up. We all knew what was coming to the confessor. _

_Usually I admitted to doing something wrong and accepted the punishment because I hated to see other people hurt. David had no problems with it, and usually he was the one who got special treatment, because he was the only "True Relative" in this household. Rose on the other hand, hated how I'd take up for the mistakes. _

"_Ya shouldn't be doing this. If it gets much worse, you'll end up in a hospital. Next time let me admit ta it." She referred to the repeated beatings I got after I fessed up._

_One time Joe beat me so bad that I had to miss a week of school, just so that no one had to see how bruised I was. It was nothing on any given weekend for the cops to be at our house, breaking up a domestic dispute between my mother and Joe. _

_I felt sorry for Rose, for she didn't have it perfect either. She received her share of beatings and there were times when both of us would go without eating, because we were "the bad seed, and had to learn to earn our food". _

_When we were still in elementary and middle school Ma' McManus, who knew about our situation, would allow Rose and I to spend whole weeks with their family since we went to the same school. But now that we were older, we decided it was better for us to stay at our own home. It would raise fewer questions. _

_In a sense Rose, Connor, Murphy, and I were all in the same boat. All of us were missing a father figure, and all we had was each other. Rose lost her parents in a mob war, and the twins' da' was MIA. Mine was buried six feet under and I would trade almost anything to bring him back._


	2. Chapter 2

The four of us stopped by Ma' McManus's around dinnertime. Rose and I hadn't planned on staying, but we hadn't eaten anything since having some stew the night before.

"_Trinity! Rose!" she beamed and gave us almighty hugs that only a mother knew how to give. _

"_How are my two girls? Looking a bit peaky. Would ya like to stay fer supper?" she asked in a rush. _

_We shrugged out of our jackets. What the hell? Staying for a few hours wouldn't hurt. _

_"Sure, we'd love to." I replied, looking at my "sister"._

_She nodded her head in agreement. "Aye, Ma' McManus's cooking is the best in all Ireland, if I do say so me self." _

_Connor then put his two cents in. "Ya wouldn't say it if ya had ta eat it every night." _

_We all glanced at Mrs. McManus to see how she would react. "Why ya cheeky little man! I'll beat ya me self in front of the whole neighborhood if I have ta."_

_Connor hid behind his brother, as his ma advanced upon him. Everyone began laughing hysterically. Now this was what I called a home._

* * *

_Around eleven Rose and I excused ourselves to go home. _

"_Are ya sure ya have to go home?" Murph asked us genuinely. _

"_Aye, me ma's probably home an I don't want her to be alone with that bastard." I sighed. _

_We said our goodbyes to Abigail (the boys' mom) and strode towards the door in the company of the twins. _

_I hugged Connor first. _

"_If ya need anything, anything at all, ya come straight here and we'll help as much as we can." He said, looking between Rose and me. _

"_Aw I think ole' Connor's gone soft for us, eh Rosy?" I said mischievously in order to lighten the mood. _

"_Aye I think he has. Looks like we're gonna have to toughen him up again." She chimed in. _

_Connor laughed, but returned to looking at us with concern._

"_Aye but I'm being serious." He said as he hugged Rose. _

"_The same goes for me too. If ya need anything don't hesitate to call us or show up on our doorstep at three AM." Murphy said, then looked at me with mischief in his green eyes. _

_This made me blush not only because of the butterflies in my stomach but also because of a memory his words had triggered. _

_When we were younger, Rose and I had been sent to the McManus's at three in the morning because my mom and step dad had gotten into a major fight and were carted off to jail for a month. _

"_Aye, well thank ya both. I'm so glad we have ya two as friends." I said as I hugged Murphy goodbye. _

"_Same for me. We'd be lost if we didn't have you two ta mess with." Rose agreed and hugged Murphy too. _

_Finally after calming the boys' nerves down, Rose and I managed to walk home._

* * *

"_I can see why ya like 'em." Rose said suddenly. _

_I looked at her with curious eyes. _

"_What tha devil are ya going on about?" I questioned. _

_She chuckled at my confusion. "The twins. They've been so good to us over tha years. It's hard for a person not ta love them." _

_I tilted my head downward to watch my feet walk along the cobblestone sidewalk, and simply stated, "Aye"._

* * *

_We could hear the fighting even before we reached the gravel pathway to our house. _

"_Looks like they're fighting again. Ya ready?" _

_I grabbed my "sister's" hand and braced myself for what was waiting in that wretched building. She looked at me with slightly fearful eyes but tried not to show any emotion. _

"_Everything 'ill be ok. I promise." I attempted a half smile, but failed miserably. _

"_Don't even start, last time ya said tha ya ended up in the hospital having ta get seventeen stitches to close tha gash on yer forehead, remember?" _

_I didn't want to dwell on the past. "Look whatever happens, we still have each other, right?" _

_She nodded her head in solemn agreement. "Aye". _

_Just then the front door flew open. It was David, one of our "perfect" stepbrothers. _

"_Da'! Look who just fucking showed up!" he yelled at the top of his lungs._

_I could've ripped his throat from his body. Now we were going to get it. _

_Just then Joe Yakavetta came running to see what his son was yelling about. Pure rage glistened in his eyes as he dragged the two of us into the house. Mom was lying in the floor crying, a bottle of vodka in her hand. _

"_What the fuck did ya do ta her?" I yelled out. "If ya hurt her, motherfucker, I'll rip yer damn heart out of yer chest with me bare hands!" _

_Joe slapped me so hard that my face completely turned to face Rose. Tears fell from my eyes as I felt the stinging sensation. _

"_You little Whore! Your mother learned to keep her fucking mouth shut so why don't you do the same?" he screamed. _

_Unbridled anger that had been boiling since I met the man flowed out like a river from me through only a simple phrase. "Vaffanculo, perra!"_

_Since mom remarried an Italian, I picked up on a few phrases here and there. This one was particularly offensive since I was using his own tongue to insult him. _

_He reeled back and punched me square in the jaw. It hurt like I don't know what, but at least it was keeping Rose and ma' from being hurt too. _

"_You two are both grounded from seeing those pig-headed, insignificant little fucks! I know that's where you two have been!" He yelled, grabbing a knife lying on the table, and pressed the cool blade to my throat. "Or else, you'll get what's coming to you." _

_He then removed the blade from my throat and yanked Rose's red hair, pressing the knife to her throat. "Do I make myself clear?" _

_She whimpered a small 'yes', as she attempted to nod her head in complacence. _

"_Good," he mumbled as he picked up his dozing wife by the hair, and dragged her to their bedroom. _

_This always made me sick. Once he was done abusing us, he'd take mom and rape her. _

_Rose and I sometimes would wake up to her crying from the pain Joe was causing her. _

_Once Joe moved from my line of vision, I could see David sitting in the recliner attempting to watch TV. I glared at him. He deserved to pay for what Rose and I went through. _


	3. Chapter 3

_The next day I awoke and dressed for school as if nothing had happened, but there was still evidence of what took place. My face was still swollen and purple/blue. Rose had a thin cut across her throat, and a small bruise on her cheek._

_As I went to the bathroom I saw mom's bloody garments lying in the hamper. At that I threw up, and had no intention of eating breakfast._

_When Rose had finished gathering her books, she and I walked out the door. _

_On our way to school we pass by the McManus's house so they normally accompany us, but today neither of us felt comfortable walking with them. They would notice the physical effects of the abuse and tell their mother. She would probably file a report and Rose and I would probably get torn away from each other in the foster care system. _

_Before we could say anything, however, the twins came marching out of their warm house. _

"_Morning, ladies." They said as they each gave us a hug. _

_I did the best I could to hide the marks with make up but I could tell they could see it. _

"_Holy fuck! Triny, what tha fuck happened to yer' face?" Murphy asked first. _

_I blushed slightly and looked away._

"_It's nothing" was all I could manage to say. _

_They then scrutinized Rose. She looked towards the road while saying, "She's right. It's nothing." _

_She tried her best to be nonchalant, but they weren't buying it. _

"_Fuck! He's been doing it again, 'hasn't 'e?" Connor said in a low, grave voice. _

_I nodded. _

"_Aye, he has, but ye can't go blubbering to yer ma bout it." Rose said, her melodic, Irish voice full of command. _

_The twins nodded in agreement, and the subject was dropped. They knew how bad it would be for us if someone reported the abuse. So with that all cleared out of the way, the four of us made our way to school._

* * *

_Once school let out for the day we trudged home to do our homework. _

_Since Connor and Murphy's mom was in town for the day Rose and I decided to have a homework session with the boys. They readily agreed. _

"_So there's this party going on in a few weeks. Some friends of ours are giving us the VIP treatment and we was wondering if ya two would like ta come?" _

_I pretended I was excited, but in truth I tried to come up with a viable excuse not to go. Parties have never really been my thing. Rose was more into it than I was, and speedily told them "yes". _

_After a moment of failing to come up with an excuse, I shrugged my shoulders, "Why not? Let's see how much trouble we can cause at this party." _

_I saw Murphy slyly smile, and it started making me blush, so I went back to focusing on my homework. _

_That night we left before Mrs. McManus could see us in the shape we were in, and arrived home around seven-thirty. We noticed that Joe's car was gone. I really didn't care where he was as long as my mother wasn't with him. Fuck the bastard for all I care._

* * *

_As we entered our home, it seemed as though David was gone too. That made it even better. _

_Just then the sound of a toilet flushing resounded from the bathroom, and out walked my mother. Surprisingly she seemed sober, for there seemed to be a pained expression on her face that wasn't usually present. She waved to us as she proceeded to light a cigarette. _

"_Girls, I have something ta tell ya. It might come as a right nasty shock." _

_We waited in silence. If mom managed to stay sober until we got home, then it had to be important. _

"_Girls, ya need ta pack yer things. We're moving." _

_My face paled and I felt as if I were going to throw up again. _

"_Where are we moving to and why?" Rose asked, accusingly. _

_Mom took a long pull on her cigarette, and tapped some of the excess ash off into the ashtray. _

"_We're moving ta tha US. Joey says it's the best thing fer us ta do right now. He's got business there that his father started; business that'll make us money."_

_I couldn't take it. I started laughing. "Let me guess? This is all some sick twisted dream I'm having an the moment I wake up everything will be back tha way it was!" _

_Mom sighed and put out her cigarette. "No, my dear I'm afraid this isn't a dream. I'm only doing what I can ta protect ya two. Joey has a place fer us in Boston and when ya two grow up, you'll inherit his money. I'm only thinking of the future, Trin, and yours too Rose. Heaven knows how much ya two mean ta me." Mom finished wearily. _

_I guess being sober for more than a few minutes a day took a lot out of a person, but I didn't care. I'd been through hell for her, and now she was going to get a taste of it. _

"_Yer so full 'o shit, Ma!" I yelled, throwing a glass across the room. _

_It shattered into a million pieces. _

"_Can't ya see he's the reason ya think yer such a bad mom? He's the one putting ya down and telling ya that ya don't know what the fucks' going on! We have lives here! You're gonna fuck all that up, for him?" _

_I expected mom to flinch slightly, but I guess somewhere in that drunken body, my mom was really there, for she didn't back down. _

"_Listen here, Trinity. Yer going to drag yer sorry arse upstairs and yer going to pack yer shit without complaining! Understood? We leave at tha end of the month. Yer father and brothers are already there, making arrangements for us." _

_I was taken aback by her fierceness. It was almost as if the old ma were a ghost fighting to hang on. Inwardly I was proud of her for being able to stay sober until we got home, but was so pissed off about having to move. _

"_He'll never be my da and ya fucking know it!" I yelled as I gave mom a last pleading look and ran upstairs to the bedroom._


End file.
